Just One Thing

 I enjoyed another extremely based episode of Attack On Titan today, where we actually see a flashback to season 2, back when Sasha fought a titan with a bow and arrow to save a little girl whose mother got eaten. 

This little girl we learn, eventually came to work on Sasha's parents' farm. Apparently her name is Kaya. Four years later, she discovers our resident Good Eldian (Gabi actually refers to herself as this in the episode!) and Falco making their escape from prison, determined to find Zeke and demand an explanation for his apparent betrayal. Or at least, Gabi is. Falco is still just trying to keep her out of trouble, and in this episode, fails miserably. 

I'm not a misogynist like I was when I was younger, but honestly? Men, if a woman is acting this self-destructive, stop playing Captain Save-a-Ho. I know that Gabi is literally a dark version of Eren, and that Falco plays the same role as Mikasa did, but real life is not an anime.

No matter how badly I wish it was.

Anyways, Kaya figures it out pretty fast that Falco and Gabi are lying about their identities (Falco introduces them as Ben and Mia respectively) and gets into a heated argument with Gabi over the Eldians' guilt in previous centuries. Gabi becomes so angry that she tries to stab Kaya with a pitchfork, and Kaya still covers for her so no one suspects anything. 

She takes Gabi to the same spot Sasha found her in all the way back in season 2, unable to do anything as she watched her mother be devoured by a titan, due to the fact that her legs didn't work. Even after she describes in vivid gory detail how her mother eventually gave up and died before the titan came after them, Gabi still insists that all Eldians deserve it due to all the atrocities they committed in days past. Kaya provides no other argument other than "what do I or my family have to do with any of that?"

Eventually, Gabi gives up when Falco interjects, admitting to Kaya that neither she nor her mother did anything wrong, and that they were caught up in a pre-offensive leading up to the invasion of Paradis. 

Now here's where I interject. I'm sure Gabi will see some character development later on, and eventually realize she was wrong, leading either to an epiphany or a tragedy, but once again I remind you that we don't live in the world of stories. Kaya needs to use this argument to drive the point home to Gabi. But in real life, people like this rarely change their views.

A large part of it is that social justice becomes these people's whole identity. It's not that they entirely define themselves by their politics (though some do) it's that their way of life is inextricably bound to social justice activism. Take for instance, the Jewish author Robin DiAngelo, writer of the best-seller "White Fragility", the most rage-inducing anti-White propaganda ever put to paper. If you hear about it being taught in your local school or library, take action immediately. 

Anyhow, even if she were the kind of person that accepts reasoned arguments that alter her philosophy (which she explicitly states in the book she isn't) nothing you ever said or did to her could convince her that Whites have a right to promote their own interests. This is because anti-White hatred isn't just her ideology it's her entire career, it's her reputation, and it's her entire mode of being. Unless you uprooted her entire living situation, maybe by sending her to live in a ghetto or maybe South Africa, nothing will ever shake this world-view.

And even then, it's not a guarantee. Gabi clings on to her Marleyan upbringing even after coming to Paradis and seeing the things she does. There is no justifying yourself to these people. They have already classified you as less-than-human, and there is no point in altering that perception.

What Kaya should've said to Gabi is "Good."

I'm glad the Eldians did those things to the Marleyans, because they obviously deserved it, based on how they treat the Eldians now. Everything Marley has attained, they only got due to Eldian titan powers. Not only that, they became just as, if not more oppressive than Eldia ever was.

The Eldians wiped out cultures? The current Eldian living situation has shown that that was clear-cut self-defense. And it's not as if Marley is any different, seeing how we have anime's most based black man, Onyankopon, as one of their imperialized subjects.

You cannot avoid the guilt of your ancestors, so own it. Christopher Columbus did nothing wrong, and neither did any of the men who came after him. Andrew Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Huey Long were all American heroes. Your reparations are getting to live in the greatest, most tolerant, most prosperous country in the world. 

Kaya and the New Eldian Empire should embrace the term "devil." And it seems like Eren and a lot of other characters are intent on doing so. 

However, I remind you that Japan has a very different conception of the terms "devil" and "demon." 

In real life, the true servants of the Devil are the Marleyans, and do not forget that. 

As always, there are no Good Eldians, and there are no Honorary Marleyans. 

Depending on how the next couple of episodes go, I'm thinking we should start calling ourselves Jaeger Loyalists.